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STEVEN M.

STEVEN M.

Joined on 12/14/09

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 8
Most Favorable Review

Tex.... /facepalm

M-AUDIO Delta 66 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Professional 6-In/6-Out Audio Card with Digital I/O
M-AUDIO Delta 66 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Professional 6-In/6-Out Audio Card with Digital I/O

Pros: This is meant for recording, not as a replacement for some turtle beach / creative labs sound card. The breakout box is by far the best feature of this card. Instead of having to snake cable behind your machine its all there up front in a convenient location. Running multiple ins from a pre-amp or board makes recording multiple tracks / instruments at the same time simple as pie.

Cons: Not really a con but there is no dedicated pre-amp, so those wishing to buy this and hook up a guitar directly are going to be disappointed.

Overall Review: One of the best products on the market. I've owned mine for over 6 years and its still going strong. If you're a basement musician and you're looking for a dedicated I/O card geared towards recording I highly recommend this or its smaller counterpart the 4/4.

Most Critical Review

Stay Away...

COOLMAX V-600 600 W ATX12V version 2.2 Power Supply
COOLMAX V-600 600 W ATX12V version 2.2 Power Supply

Pros: Cheap ($30 locally) and I got a few months out of it.

Cons: Cables are awfully short, even in a Micro ATX tower. It has 600watts of power if you want to overload it, true rating should be around 350 - 400w continuous and even that's being generous. When I purchased the unit, one of the SATA power cables was broken, so I'd assume poor QC at this point.

Overall Review: Save yourself the headaches and buy and Antec Earthwatts. Honestly the 380w version will outperform this piece of garbage. If you're strapped for cash, you can pick up a Xigmatek 402 or 502 for around the same price. Its manufactured by HEC (con possibly?), but it has some good reviews and a few recommendations.

Good Budget Smart TV

Vizio E-series 32" 720p 60Hz LED-LCD HDTV E320I-A0
Vizio E-series 32" 720p 60Hz LED-LCD HDTV E320I-A0

Pros: The picture quality is fairly good with no bleeding, dead pixels, or underwhelming backlight. It does suffer from the typical 'blue-ing' when dark scene appear, but not to the extent of some other products in this price range. The wired and wireless connection choices are a nice touch, especially considering a TV in this price range might not always be put in a living room setting and might have quite a bit of distance to a router, modem, switch, etc. The input selection does support HDMI, Component, and Composite, hook ups and it's always nice to see a USB port for using media streaming devices and sticks. The fit and finish are quite nice and it looks very understated and monolithic. The media services are a great value-add, with the always popular Netflix and AmazonPrime leading the charge. The menu system and 'apps' are very easy to navigate are appealing to view. Netflix browsing was a breeze and I was even able to plug in my Logitech K400 and use it to enter my username and password. This was quite a surprising feature and something I was testing as a joke. This TV does support add-on keyboards, at least a default Qwerty setup. The media keys and extras on the K400 didn't work, so I was left with a basic keyboard and mouse, which was still nice to use.

Cons: The wireless range is short; absolutely abysmal. Compared to my Roku, Ouya (after several firmware updates), phone, tablet, laptop, etc. in the same location it fails miserably; 1 bar, 2 if I'm lucky, when all of the other devices tested seemed to have 3 - 5. Wired connections work well and I've been using an old Linksys WRT54G as a wireless adapter via bridge mode. In the menu you can add hidden networks, set up a network manually (with all the important parameters covered), or even view broadcasting networks and with a simple click of a button, you're on your way to the interwebs. The picture is nice but isn't the best panel by a long-shot. Considering it's price, it just doesn't compare to other Samsung or LG panels that sit in this range. The trade off is that you get a much larger TV and more value-add features like the smart TV functions and access to services often omitted from certain devices such as a particular media player released by a 'fruity' brand. It's not a panel that will put most off, but again, compared to higher end units, you can notice a difference.

Overall Review: This is a great TV for the money and offers a good experience, with some features missing from other TVs in this price range (sub $200). If you're looking for a nice TV in a guest bedroom, children's room, or basement you can't go wrong with this model. For smaller living rooms or for those on a budget you won't be disappointed with this TV.

ARCTIC Freezer 7 Pro - Compact Multi-Compatible Tower CPU Cooler | 92 mm PWM Fan | for AMD AM4 and Intel 115x CPU | Recommended up to 115 W TDP
ARCTIC Freezer 7 Pro - Compact Multi-Compatible Tower CPU Cooler | 92 mm PWM Fan | for AMD AM4 and Intel 115x CPU | Recommended up to 115 W TDP

Pros: No need to remove the mounts from an AMD board, uses the stock mounting. Its inaudible, even when running at max speed. The stock cooler that came with my Phenom II X4 wasn't cutting it, I was running around 50-55C and using this my CPU never goes above 40C.

Cons: None.

Overall Review: If you own an AMD CPU, buy this now.

Thermaltake V4 Black Edition Gaming Chassis Mid Tower Steel Computer Case Fully Black Powdered Interior VM30001W2Z
Thermaltake V4 Black Edition Gaming Chassis Mid Tower Steel Computer Case Fully Black Powdered Interior VM30001W2Z

Pros: 1.) Great airflow 2.) Cable management options 3.) Dust cover for the PSU 4.) Front of the case acts as a dust cover

Cons: 1.) Rear fan blocks the I/O panel, I replaced it with a Gelid 2.) Motherboard spacers / mounting is off a bit 3.) Top fan mounts don't provide enough space for normal fans, you'll most likely have to go with those half height Scythe fans 4.) PSU may cover part of the bottom fan mount

One of the best PSU's for the money

Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-520 520 W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-520 520 W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Pros: 1.) Antec / Seasonic quality 2.) Proven platform 3.) Sleeved cabling 4.) PRICE

Cons: None.

Overall Review: If you're using a full sized tower some of the cables may not reach depending on your cable management situation.